KarCat
by waitingforthesunrise
Summary: My first fanfic ever, and the pairing is KarkatxOC. Rated M for smut, language, and violence.
1. Chapter 1: Accidental Encounter

(A/N: Hey guys, this is my first ever fanfic for anything, so please be forgiving for any mistakes... I'll try my best to keep grammar and spelling mistakes to a minimum, and Karkat may be a little OOC, I don't really know if I'm characterizing him right, but if any of you have some tips/suggestions/constructive criticism, that would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to drop a PM to me or a review! Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy 3)

Karkat's POV

Chapter 1: Accidental Encounter

I was too busy trying to not get _killed_ that I ran into the closest room I could find, and didn't have time to check to see who else could possibly be in there. So I threw open the door in haste to find some sort of refuge, and slammed it shut behind me, panting.

It was then that I heard water running inside.

_OH FUCK._

To my utter embarrassment, I heard a female voice call out, "Hello?" and this was the last thing I needed on top of everything else going on, _FUCKFUCKFUCK, I JUST NEED TO THINK!_

"H-hello?.." she called again.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP," I hissed, "HE'LL HEAR US YOU DUMBASS!"

"Karkat?! What the fuck, I'm taking a shower, get the hell out of here, you perv!" a head popped out from the curtains, and out of all people, it had to be Caterina glaring at me.

I don't have the patience for this.

"FUCK, IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE– LOOK, WE'RE IN DANGER, FIRST ERIDAN WALTZED INTO THE LAB, STARTED A FIGHT WITH SOLLUX, AND THEN HE KILLED FEF AND KANAYA. AND NOW GAMZEE LOST HIS SHIT AND WENT CRAZY. HE'S KILLING TROLLS LEFT AND RIGHT AND I JUST RAN IN HERE TO THINK. SO FUCKING SUE ME."

"But I'm naked in here!" she whined with obvious humiliation and frustration. Then she glanced down at Sollux's limp body. Her frustration quickly turned to unadulterated anger.

_"YOU FUCKING BROUGHT SOLLUX HERE TOO?! WHAT IF HE WAKES UP?!"_ she basically screamed.

"HE'S BLIND, AND THAT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER NOW, WE COULD DIE! JUST PLEASE, QUIET DOWN WHILE I TRY TO THINK HERE. TURN THE WATER OFF."

With an irritated sigh, she surprisingly obeyed, and I sat on the toilet beside the shower.

Caterina's POV

"Alright Nep, I'm gonna take a shower, I'll be right back," I smiled down at Nepeta, who gave me a warm, "Bye, Cat!" as I walked away.

Everything was calm in the Veil on our isolated meteor, and most of the trolls had already accepted and tolerated my alien intrusion. I slightly suspected that Nepeta only took a liking to me because of the word, "cat" in my name, but I liked her all the same. We hung out from time to time on the asteroid, but I mainly walked around by myself exploring the place, and spying on the other trolls. I don't really know how I came to be the only human here on this asteroid, but I was in my room back on earth before I suddenly appearified before them, blinking and confused. Apparently I was some descendent of another human named Jade, accidentally created out of an ectobiology mishap. Nevertheless, I became pretty good friends/hate friends with all of them, but the troll that was the hardest to figure out was Karkat.

I've tried to talk to him and be friendly, but he was always so hostile towards me that I eventually began throw back some hostility to him. And to that, he often responded with a blush and grumpy expletives before he walked off. What was his deal? I pondered this as I headed toward the bathroom, oblivious for what was about to come.

I always denied the trolls' true nature to be violent and terrifying, as I was trying to make myself feel safe around these random, alien strangers, but I never expected this. Feeling thoroughly violated, annoyed and embarrassed on top of newly brewing panic in my chest, my heart raced as Karkat sat beside me, only a thin curtain blocking my nude body from his sight. Although I'd never admit it to myself, much less him, I couldn't help but feel a slight attraction to the strange troll. To be really honest, I felt safe under his leadership and admired him as a person(troll?) when he wasn't being a complete immature douchebag. Which, to be even more honest, was most of the time.

"So? What do you got, genius?" I whispered sarcastically, before I heard a loud HONK slowly approaching from outside and we both jumped in fear.

_Oh, god._

Karkat's POV

_OH GOG._

"SHIT, I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS," I tried to explain quickly as I pulled back the curtain to hide.

"Wha-!" she began to cry out in panic, and I slammed my hand over her mouth. Keeping my eyes determined to focus on her dark brown ones, I put a finger to my lips and she nodded, her face bright red and eyes wide. She was shaking in fear and humiliation as we slowly sat down together in the tub and she flinched whenever my skin would accidentally touch hers. Fuck, I felt terrible for making her feel so uncomfortable, but it's not like I particularly enjoyed being in a bathroom with a naked human girl, either. Still, my eyes couldn't help but just glance over her skin even for just a second.

We found ourselves huddling close together as we heard the HONKs get nearer and nearer, and my blood ran cold as I heard what was most likely Gamzee's footsteps stop in front of the door.

_HONK._

Caterina was basically on my lap now, and my hand tightened around my sickle. We prepared for the worst until a screeching "pounceavenge!" shattered the silence and my heart rose in hope.

"ALRIGHT, NOW'S MY CHANCE TO SNEAK UP BEHIND HIM WHILE HE'S DISTRACTED. STAY. HERE." I whispered firmly.

"No, are you _crazy_?!" she whispered back stubbornly, gripping on my shirt. "I'm not letting you leave me here alone. Either I go with you, or we sit back here and hear everyone die before we're next." Gog, she was fucking impossible.

"TAKE THIS," I grumbled as I pulled off my shirt, blushing slightly. In her fear, I think she herself forgot she was naked and quickly snatched my shirt to cover herself.

"Th-thanks," she murmured, hiding her ashamed face. Thankfully the shirt was long enough on her to cover her lower parts as well, and I could tell she was trying hard to return the favor of not staring at my bare chest. Slowly, we began to stand up together to get out of the tub as quietly as possible. Caterina, realizing what she had been doing, practically jumped away from me and put a chaste distance between us as we headed towards the door.

However, we stopped short when we heard her screams.

"Nepe-" Cat cried out again before my hand silenced her. Tears streaked her face, and I was taken aback at how much she actually cared for us. Red tinged tears were dangerously close to spilling over at the sight of another friend's death, and it took all the strength I could muster to keep strong and look composed as leader for the team; there were more important matters at hand. Cat equipped her sniper rifle beside me, and I gripped my sickle. Ready to strife if we had to, we walked out of the bathroom. Sollux began to stir, and being blind, he couldn't assess the scandalous situation and kept quiet. For once. I sucked in my breath as I saw Nepeta's body crumpled only yards away, and Cat whimpered softly. Sollux just followed along, knowing what was going on.

We needed to find the others. If there are any others.

"Karkat..." Cat began.

"WHAT?"

"What are we going to do now? How many of us are..?"

"WE'RE GOING TO FIND THE OTHERS."


	2. Chapter 2: The Showdown

Caterina's POV 

Chapter 2: The Showdown

We walked warily through the lab, and on the way, heard word from Terezi that she was alright. From her, we heard that Vriska had killed Tavros, adding to the depressingly long count of the deceased.

First, Aradia bot exploded, leading to Aradia's final death,

Then Vriska killed Tavros,

Eridan KO'd Sollux and killed Feferi and Kanaya (Karkat told me how he had revived Kanaya, though)

And lastly, Gamzee killed both Equius and Nepeta.

How many more trolls? How many more friends were going to die? I looked up at Karkat beside me, and I wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but of course, I couldn't do that. Now wasn't the time or place. I led Sollux along instead, hoping that at least he would be safe to be around. I didn't know how many of these trolls I could actually trust to protect me, and I put faith in Karkat as our leader to protect me, to protect us. If I couldn't trust Karkat, I didn't know what I would do. I unknowingly clutched tighter to my rifle, and tighter onto Sollux's hand.

"ow, st0p squeezing s0 hard!" Sollux complained

"What?" I said, realizing. "Oh, sorry Sol, I'm just a little on edge."

"s'0kay," he replied. "wait. why d0 y0u smell like kk?"

"Uh..." I looked down at his shirt, and now pants that he let me borrow when we stopped by his makeshift respite block in the meteor, and he grabbed a shirt for himself too.

"DON'T ASK," Karkat grumbled, his voice low.

"its like seeing– i mean sniffing tw0 kk's.. 0ne's irritating en0ugh," he jeered.

Karkat flipped him off. But I giggled because of course, Sollux couldn't see.

Karkat's POV

Gog, it's been such a terrible fucking day. I keep wondering what would have happened if we all decided to just ditch this game and return to our normal lives. I would be at my computer, watching my shitty romcoms, with no interruptions from trolls OR humans, for that matter.

Humans. Oh gog, I can't get that fucking image of Caterina out of my head. How retarded could I possibly be? I swear, I hate past me, even when I just finished being him. I've always wondered what a human's anatomy looked like, but I didn't want to find out in that way! Fuck. Ever since that whole fiasco, I can't get her out of my head, and I can't fucking believe I gave her my clothes. Ugh, I'll have to wash the human out of them. Gross. Part of me hated her so much because she always made me so nervous when I was around her, and I won't admit to myself why. I shook myself out of my daze and focused on finding the others.  
It didn't take long.  
We arrived at what seemed to be a showdown and Cat fell back to cover if things got dicey. Hidden out of sight, she had her rifle aimed at Gamzee, waiting. She was out for blood and seeing that rage in her made me hate her more. But she held her fire. For now.  
Looking around, Kanaya was alive and well, covered in dark violet blood with an iridescent glow to her, (Good, she took care of that asshole.) Vriska was lying on the floor, most likely dead, Terezi seemed fine, her canes ready to strife, Sollux stood ready, despite his blindness, and finally Gamzee looked us with his murderous, half lidded eyes, and hammer gripped. His face had three long slashes marring his makeup, and his light purple blood dripped down menacingly. I slowly walked up to him, sickle in hand, but–  
I won't be needing it.

Caterina's POV

Kneeled down, and breath held for accuracy, I aimed at Gamzee's pretty little head, ready to fire at Karkat's call. The five stared at each other for a couple of minutes, waiting to see who was going to step forward first.

And then Karkat dropped his sickle.

What the hell is he doing?! I whispered furiously to myself. I watched in disbelief as he swatted away his friends' weapons and strode over to Gamzee. It was all I could do not to panic. I scoped in to get a closer look.

Karkat was calm. He slowly began petting (papping?) Gamzee's face while shooshing him softly.

What the actual fuck?

Gamzee started honking uncontrollably but seemed to be responding to Karkat's shooshpapping, his honks growing gradually weaker until they pulled each other in for a hug. Aw, how cute. Karkat soon broke away and looked towards me.

"HEY CATERINA, YOU CAN COME BACK OUT NOW. EVERYONE ELSE, GO BACK TO THE LAB AND STAY THERE, ASSHOLES. LEADER'S ORDERS."

I lowered my sniper and capatchalogued it, walking over to the trolls.

"SuRe ThInG, bEsT fRiEnD, oR sHoUlD i SaY, mOrAiL? :o)" Gamzee and Sollux left without an argument. I only hoped that Gamzee was safe to be around now.

"OOOH, WHY 1S C4T3R1N4 W34R1NG YOUR CLOTH3S, K4RKL3SSSS? I C4N SM311 YOU ON H3R H3H3H3" Terezi teased at my appearance. Oh fuck, I forgot I was even wearing these.. I looked down at myself and gave a helpless smile in response.

"D1D YOU TWO H4V3 4 MOM3NT? OOH, HOW SC4ND4LOUS!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY? GO BACK TO THE LAB. AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION, NO WE DID NOT HAVE A 'MOMENT', AND ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS IF WE DID. I DON'T PRY ABOUT YOU AND DAVE, DO I?" Karkat quickly yelled back at her.

Terezi just giggled and transportalized back to the lab, as were her "leader's" commands. Kanaya gave us a strange look and opened her mouth to make a comment, but decided against it and chuckled, following Terezi.

I strode up to Karkat, and he looked up at me.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, HAVEN'T I SEEN ENOUGH OF YOU TODAY?" he said sounded irritated and tired. It took him a second before he realized what he said and face palmed himself.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN."

"Yeah.. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for everything, really. I was so terrified out there, and I was sure we were going to die.. But you handled everything smoothly. You're a great leader, Karkat," I said, "You don't give yourself enough credit."

With that, I turned and transportalized to the lab as well.

"WAI–!" Karkat tried to say, but I disappeared before he could finish.


	3. Chapter 3: Grieving

Caterina's POV

Chapter 3: Grieving

I quickly headed towards my own respite block to change out of Karkat's clothes and back into my own clothes before anyone else could see. I regretted having to give back the shirt, it felt so warm, and... it really did smell like Karkat; it felt like he was there with me when I was wearing it, and for once on this damn asteroid, I felt truly safe. But I reluctantly took it off, and replaced it with my own pale yellow sweater. Leaving his clothes on my bed, I returned to the lab and headed straight towards the troll.

"Hey Karkat, I'm going back to LOSAS (Land of Sound and Shade) to complete more quests. Is that okay?"

"WHAT? BUT WE NEED YOU HERE, WE'RE SHORT ON TROLLS AS IT IS, ARGH, WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I really need to get these quests done, I'm kinda behind."

"ALRIGHT. JUST.. BE CAREFUL, OKAY?"

I nodded and left for my own planet. I need to get out of here.

In LOSAS, I trained with my sniper, and eventually upgraded it to turn into a sword if I wanted to, and I made myself some pretty good pistols too. My overall skill was long range combat and accuracy, though. Taking out the imps in my area helped to eliminate any fears or worries that I had of the trolls. If any of them came to attack me out of another crazy phase, I would be ready. For Nepeta, I would be ready.

Karkat's POV

"WAIT!" I tried to call out to Caterina before she left, but it was too late, she couldn't hear me. I gave a frustrated sigh and transportalized to the lab myself. Everyone snickered at me when I came into the room.

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO WORK. THE HUMANS ARE GOING TO PERFORM THE SCRATCH SOON."

Where was Caterina? She didn't seem to be in the lab either, but I couldn't dare ask anyone where she had went, not that they'd know or really care where she went either.

As if on cue, she transportlized into the lab again and headed straight for me, asking if she could return to her planet. I wondered what she did to my clothes, now that she was dressed in her own clothes. I really wanted to talk to her, but I let her go. She was a quite a few levels beneath us, anyway. Hours went by, and I tried to keep in contact with Jade and John as they started working toward scratching the game. Soon, we wouldn't be able to see their timelines anymore, and they would meet us. Part of me was admittedly looking forward to meeting the annoyances that I've been forced to deal with, especially John. That damned human infected us all with the "friendship" disease. And that made me wonder, was I really friends with Caterina, or were we in a quadrant somewhere? Could she even understand the fragile concept of a quadrant? Argh, where was she? She seemed like she was in a hurry to leave, and I couldn't blame her. Being around a bunch of murderous trolls can take a toll eventually. She probably hates us now.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling kittyCaterina [KC]

CG: ARE YOU FINISHED WITH YOUR QUESTS YET

CG: REALLY, KITTYCATERINA? YOU LET NEPETA MAKE YOUR TROLLIAN ACCOUNT, DIDN'T YOU

KC: Shut up, Karkat, you have no idea how much she meant to me and she was a lot nicer to me than the rest of you were, especially you in particular!

CG: SHIT, I DIDN'T MEAN TO GET YOU UPSET, BUT I GUESS HUMANS AREN'T AS USED TO DEATH AS WE ARE

KC: I mean, do you even care that your friends are gone at all?

CG: OF COURSE I CARE.

CG: I WAS THEIR LEADER, AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM, BUT I FUCKED IT UP BECAUSE PAST ME IS A RETARDED ASSHOLE.

KC: Don't you see that past you IS you?

KC: A dumber version of you, at least.

CG: LOOK, JUST COME BACK TO BASE, OKAY?

CG: WE NEED YOU HERE TO KEEP EVERYONE IN ORDER

KC: I thought that was your job, smartass.

GC: YOU'D BE A BETTER LEADER THAN ME.

KC: What are you saying?

KC: First you're mean to me,

KC: Then you're kind,

KC: (oh, and let's not forget the bathroom incident)

KC: and now you're offering for me to be leader?

KC: What the hell is going on with you?

CG: I DON'T KNOW

CG: BUT WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT WHEN YOU GET BACK

KC: We could talk about it right now.

CG: ARGH, JUST COME BACK TO BASE!

CG: THE HUMANS ARE STARTING THE SCRATCH AND IT'S NOT SAFE

KC: Have you forgotten that I'm a human too?

CG: OH COME ON

CG: DON'T BE LIKE THAT

CG: YOU'VE BEEN WITH STUCK WITH US SHITHEADS FOR A WHILE NOW

CG: YOU'RE KINDA LIKE,

CG: ONE OF US

KC: who are you and what have you done with karkat vantas.

CG: CAN YOU STOP ARGUING WITH ME AND JUST GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE?

KC: Is that an order, leader?

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling kittyCaterina [KC]

KC: I guess so.

kittyCaterina [KC] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

I begrudgingly returned to the lab and avoiding Karkat, I walked off to a secluded area in the lab, and looked out at all of space around us. It made no sense how the hell I was able to breathe out here, but video game logic, I guess.

Karkat's POV

I couldn't see their timelines anymore. The scratch had been done, and the humans successfully created a new session while escaping their own. I could only hope that Caterina was safe out there, if she decided not to listen to me and stayed at LORAS. When John and the rest come here, at least Cat wouldn't be alone anymore and she'd have her ancestor with her. Was she really miserable here, alone with us?

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling kittyCaterina [KC]

CG: WHERE ARE YOU?

CG: ARE YOU BACK AT BASE?

CG: JACK IS OUT THERE

CG: IF HE FINDS YOU, HE WON'T HESITATE TO KILL YOU

CG: HELLO?

CG: CAT COME ON, PLEASE JUST ANSWER

CG: YOU'RE THE ONLY SANE ONE HERE

CG: FUCK.

I growled in frustration and got up from my computer. I went outside to clear my head, and wow, there she was.

"JEGUS CAT, THERE YOU ARE! YOU HAD ME SO WORRIED."

"Wha?" She turned around.

"Karkat? You went looking for me?" She said, a tone of confusion and slight disbelief in her voice.

"NOT NECESSARILY. I JUST WENT OUT TO CLEAR MY HEAD, AND HERE YOU ARE."

"So... what the hell is going on with you?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

"Everything... everything has just.. been so stressful," I confessed softly.

"I guess I just want someone to take off all this pressure on me."

We sat down on the ground together, and she gently sighed too.

"Trust me, I've been feeling the stress too, I've been so scared, lately." she practically whispered, almost as if to herself.

"Scared? Scared of what?" I asked, looking at her.

"...I don't want to die. I'm.." she hesitated. What is she talking about?

"I'm so scared of you, of trolls in general, and of this game, of my future here. What's going to happen? I don't know, and that's what scares me." She looked away, off into the distance.

"Cat, you don't have to be scared of me. Yeah, I'm a troll and I've had my fair share of killing, but we all have. You have to understand that. Don't you think that if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already and left you to Gamzee?" I said, almost irritated that she couldn't trust me. She was silent for a while.

"Cat?" She had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

"Caterina, wake up." I said, shaking my shoulder.

"Mmm?" She stirred sleepily.

She blinked a few times, before she was brought back to reality and sat up quickly.

"S-sorry," she murmured

"Go to sleep, Cat, you're exhausted," I ordered, regretting the annoyed tone in my voice.

"But didn't you forbid us all to go to sleep?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah, but it's not like anyone listens to me that much anyway."

I paused as she got up to go to her respite block.

"Caterina... We're friends, right?"

She turned, a challenge on her face. She was her old self again.

"I don't know, are we?" She teased. With that, she left the room and I was left with a sense of déjà vu.

Gog, I hated when she did that.


	4. Chapter 4: The Arrival

Caterina's POV

Chapter 4: The Arrival

I trudged over to my respite block, exhausted with too many things on my mind. I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling, Karkat's clothes still on the edge of my mattress. I looked around my room at all the things Nepeta left behind, since we had roomed together. Part of me was still grieving and trying to forgive Gamzee for this, but it was time to move on. Instead of grieving that she was gone, I should look around here and appreciate what's left here with me. Surrounded by trolls and troll possessions, I held Karkat's shirt close to me, (a guilty pleasure) and I slowly drifted to sleep.

I regained consciousness engulfed in gold and yellow. I was even wearing it. _Is this Prospit? _I wondered. I got out of my golden bed and in my golden nightgown, I strode over to the window of my tower and looked out. From here, I could see strange visions in the clouds, and tiny white people scuttling about. I was too busy looking out the window that I didn't realize someone was behind me–

With a choked gasp, I felt a knife in my back. The shock kicked in, and then everything went black.

I shot up out of my bed, still exhausted. I was panting, my heart still racing from the shock and I practically ran into the lab.

Kanaya looked at me questioningly.

"Whatever Is The Matter, Caterina?" She asked.

"I just... died.. I went to sleep and someone stabbed me!" I hadn't realized I was shaking.

"I Wouldn't Worry About It, All Of Our Dream Selves Have Died As Well," she said reassuringly.

"Why?"

"Because Jack Felt Like It." She replied simply.

Too scared to be left alone, I stayed in the lab at my designated computer for most of the day, which was a rarity.

"WELL, LOOK WHO'S FINALLY HERE." Karkat came up to me and said sarcastically.

"Leave me alone, Karkat, I'm not in the mood today." I snapped with a passive aggressive venom in my voice. I was too tired to deal with his hot/cold attitude.

"ALRIGHT THEN, JEEZ," he said defensively.

"WAIT, WHAT'S WRONG?"

There was no time for us to deal with our tension now.

"We better get outside, Rose and Dave are going to be arriving soon," I said, getting up from my seat.

Sollux was bleeding, his mustard blood everywhere as he sped our meteor faster and faster, toward the Green Sun. Finally, we met with the infamous Dave and Rose, and it was so weird and yet relieving that I wouldn't be the only human on this asteroid anymore. I was so happy that I ran over to them, hugged them tightly in greeting, and smiled proudly at their God tier apparel.

Karkat got what he wanted as he quickly relinquished his role as leader over to Strider and Rose. It was so fun to finally be together, even if we still had to wait three years until Jade and John came along. I was so excited to meet my ancestors, especially when John left us his message in the bucket that hit Karkat in the face. I laughed so hard I was about to pee myself until the unlucky troll glared daggers at me sharp enough to kill. I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't get over the fact that _finally,_ I didn't have to feel so alone. It really has been an overwhelming day. Feeling tired again, I trotted off back to my room.

I fell onto my bed and grabbed Karkat's old shirt for comfort, and reluctantly fell asleep.

While in my dream, I regained consciousness with a smiling face peering down at me. _Oh hell no. Not again._

I quickly shot up and attacked whoever was there.

A tiny black head fell from the shoulders from my assailant. _Oh god, I can't believe I did that... Jesus, where am I now?_ Looking down, I was dressed in purple rather than gold, and looking out, the tiny people were black instead of white.

"welcome to derse, stranger."

"HELL NO I SWEAR TO GOD WHO ELSE IS GOING TO-" I swung around again, my sword arcing in the light.

It met with a parry, and I was face to face with another human. I lowered my arm.

"Sorry... I thought you were here to kill me too.." I apologized.

"that's cool, but who are you? i haven't seen you before." The stranger said. He looked somewhat like Dave, maybe his older brother?

"I'm Caterina.. I'm a descendant of Jade, and I've been living with the trolls for a while now.. Apparently I have two dream selves? I was killed by Jack on Prospit and now here I am on.. Derse? What a weird name," I said.

I looked at the Dave-look-alike to answer, but he just stood there, stoic.

"Hello...?"

After a few moments he shook himself out of his daze and his eyes focused again.

"Are you okay...?"

"yeah, i'm fine, sorry it's just difficult to keep track of two waking selves at once. actually, i got to go before they realize i'm awake, so you should wake up too. like right now."

"Wait, who are you?"

"name's dirk."

And with that, he pushed me back onto my bed and flew away.

I woke up again with yet another face glaring down at me. Jesus, this was already getting old.

"Karkat? Why are you here?"

"WHERE DID YOU PUT MY CLOTHES THAT I LENT YOU?"

_Oh, crap._ I slyly tucked the shirt I was clutching further down into the covers.

"Uh..." I trailed off, blushing. I usually don't sleep with pants, and this whole situation was so awkward. How did we keep ending up like this?

"UGH, THIS IS WEIRD ENOUGH, JUST LEAVE THEM IN MY ROOM SOMEWHERE." He said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Wait, Karkat," I quickly gathered his clothes while his back was turned.

"Here," I said, getting out of bed and handing them to him.

"YEAH, THANKS, BYE." he said abruptly, not wanting to see me in my shorts.

"You don't have to act so weird around me, you know," I said. He stopped with his back still towards me in the doorway.

"We're friends, Karkat. If you need anything, I'm here for you."

He didn't respond, and walked away.

I think I was falling for him.

Karkat's POV

I headed towards my respite block, borrowed clothes in hand.

_Friends? Is this was being friends feels like?_ I thought about what she said. Ever since she came on the meteor, there's always been tension between us, we'd either be hating each other, or hitting on one another, or at least it seemed that way. No matter what I did, I always ended up bumping into her. Just being near her made my shameful blood color show through my skin, and I've wanted to just kiss her so bad. I hated it, but I couldn't just stay away. _Do friends do that to each other?_

"ARGH!" I groaned in frustration. I needed to settle this now.


	5. Chapter 5: Quadrants

Karkat's POV

Chapter 5: Quadrants

I marched right back into her room, furious.

"I CAN'T TAKE THESE MIND GAMES ANYMORE."

"What? Mind games...?" She asked, confused and innocent.

"ARE WE FRIENDS, REALLY? JUST FRIENDS? AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?" I questioned her.

She blushed, and stuttered nervously, "W-what are you trying to say?"

I groaned again and pushed her up against a wall. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I could feel her heart matching my pace. I pinned Cat with my chest pressed against hers, and my hands covered her tiny little fists on the wall. My forehead gently leaned against hers.

"What is going on between us, here?" I asked through gritted teeth. I was trying to contain my anger, but it was close to boiling over.

"You tell me," she challenged, her eyes teasing, but the rest of her, nervous and self conscious.

"You have me right where you want me, what are you waiting for?" She was shaking lightly in my arms, her words much more bold than she.

That drew the line. I kissed her roughly, and put my hands on her waist, pulling her closer to me. She quickly responded, pulling me in as well, and I bit her bottom lip, demanding entrance. She refused to let me win, and I could feel her stupid smug smile against my mouth. I brought one hand up to her breast and squeezed, hard. It was too soft and squishy to really hurt her, and she gasped and moaned slightly in return, allowing me to explore her mouth. Our tongues fought for dominance, and the wet noises from our sloppy makeout filled the room. Her hands moved into my hair, and I felt her fingers inching towards my horns. My bulge started to unsheathe from the heavy kissing, and I unconsciously was rubbing up against her. Before things got too far, I reluctantly pulled back for air, and looked at her poor, kiss-bruised lips, and her stupid adorable face, flushed with red.

"Cat," I began, my voice husky. I hated her and loved her so much at that moment.

She was panting, her breath hot in my face.

I was vacillating between quadrants for her, but for her sake, I tried to keep my cool.

"Cat, I... You know how I feel for you, right?" I tried to confess.

Still breathless, she looked up at me, her eyes looking dazed and almost trancelike.

"Fuck, you probably don't even understand the relationship quadrants... But, you know that I like you, right?"

She nodded slowly, taking in the kiss and my shitty confession.

"This... This is all so overwhelming, but I like you too, Karkat. A lot..." She blushed.

I sighed in relief and released her from the wall, and she almost fell back into my arms, her feet wobbly. I caught her, and together we walked into the common area.

Caterina's POV

I could hardly believe what just happened. After he took his clothes and left, I threw on some respectable pants on and a new t shirt, and then as soon as I turned around, he was at my doorway again, yelling at me some more. _What could he possibly want now?_ Before I knew it, he had me pinned against the wall, and I could have fainted right there. Then he kissed me and my heart stopped. Time stopped. All there was was here and now, his lips against mine, my fingers in his soft hair, and his hands on my waist. When he pulled away, a tiny string of saliva stuck to our lips and I was panting hard from the intense kiss. He confessed some vague feelings for me that I assumed were red, but I couldn't be sure. I didn't understand the mechanics of the quadrants too well.

I felt conflicted about him, but at least the tension between us was finally addressed.

Did he love me? Did he hate me?

I pondered this as we walked together down to the common room.

"well well well you guys look like you got busy." I heard Dave joke, and I blushed furiously.

"FUCK OFF, STRIDER." Karkat yelled in his usual irritated voice, his grip tightening on my hand.

"Ow," I said softly, and Karkat apologetically let go of my hand.

"Hey, Dave," I called out.

"what's up?"

"How do I become God Tier like you and Rose?" I asked, curious about their strange "pajamas."

"oh, uh.. you complete all the puzzles and quests on your planet and off yourself on the sacrificial table." He said simply.

My eyes widened.

"I have to what?!"

"yep."

"O-okay... Well, Karkat, I have to go back to LOSAS then." I started to walk away.

"WAIT, I'M COMING WITH YOU." Karkat proclaimed firmly, his hand grabbing hold of mine.

"Alright, then let's go, Karkat."

In LOSAS, it was pitch black. It was always this way. In order to see, you had to make noise and the sound waves would light the way. The loss of sight forced us to rely on our other senses, our hearing and smell, for example. Karkat of course, didn't have any problem complaining.

"HOW DO YOU EVEN SEE ON THIS DAMNED PLANET?"

"The sound wav-"

"IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE, HOW DO YOU SEE THE IMPS? I MEAN, HOW STUPID IS IT TO USE SOUND TO SEE?"

"Karkat, just shut up," I sighed, exasperated.

"You were the who wanted to come here, right? We have to find this sacrificial bed now."

"ALRIGHT," he grumbled.

Our steps illuminated only a few feet around us, so we didn't have to worry about bumping into anything directly in front of us. From time to time, I shot a bullet into the distance, to light the way ahead. It took honed skill to be able to see the sound waves coming off the imps and shoot them from far away. In the waters nearby, we could see splashes of color when the whales and dolphins bellowed out their wails and calls to one another. The beaches had rolling waves of sound that resonated throughout the area.

"IT'S... PRETTY," Karkat marveled.

"Yeah," I agree, admiring the view.

"I wonder how we're going to find it, the bed, I mean." I wondered aloud.

"YOU HAVE TO TALK TO YOUR CONSORTS AROUND HERE TO FIND CLUES, BUT CAN YOU SPEAK WHALE?"

I looked back to the sea. A row of dolphins rise and fell in the waves.

"I think we should follow them."

One dolphin poked its head out and playfully clicked at me, as if confirming my thought.

"Come on," I smiled, holding onto Karkat's hand.

With a look of apprehension, he followed along as the dolphins guided us.

Karkat's POV

My face began to flush and show my shameful blood color when she suddenly reached out for my hand, but it didn't matter because it was so damn dark in this place. It was so dark and the use-sound-to-see thing was annoying, but there was still a type of natural beauty to her planet. I was amazed at how much she actually _trusted_ me, even though I would have to be the one to kill her on that bed. A feeling of dread began to fill my gut, but I swallowed it down and reminded myself why I volunteered to go with her: I couldn't trust anyone else to do this but me.

At last, we reached it. The dolphins swam away, and we were left alone on this hill.

"CAT... YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, RIGHT? WHY I CAME WITH YOU?"

She nodded, slowly laying on the cold stone bed. Out of context, this would be a different situation entirely, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Here, Karkat," she said softly, handing me her rifle/sword. I swung it in the air to transform it.

I lifted the now sword into the air, and I looked into her deep brown eyes. In them, I could see her love for me, and her trust that it would all be okay. Sword raised high, a single red tear streaked my cheek. I figured out my feelings now. I couldn't possibly hate her.


End file.
